Lab Testing- Non Members Page

24-hour urinary steroid hormone profiles are widely used in clinical diagnostics. Recent developments of natural hormone replacement therapies, available over the counter, as pregenolone, DHEA, and progesterone and by prescription, as bio-identical estrogen (bi-set, tri-est, or estriol) and testosterone have led to new applications for steroid hormone testing. The urinary hormone profiles can be used for diagnosis, dosage adjustment and monitoring of hormone balancing protocols. The 24-hour urine test is preferred by many practitioners, because nearly all hormones are secreted in 'bursts' and 'pulses' and a single blood draw or saliva collection (or even two or three of them) may not provide a representative sample.

The ComprehensivePLUS Hormone Profile includes the following:

• DHEA, Cortisone, Cortisol, Pregnenolone, Aldosterone, Etiocholanolone, Adrosterone, Creatinine, Pregnanetriol, Tetrahydrocortisone, Tetrahydrocortisol, Allo-Tetrahydrocortisol, Tetrahydrocorticosterone, Allo-Tetrahydrocorticosterone


• DHEA, Estrone, Estradiol, Estriol, Pregnenediol, Testosterone, Etiocholanolone, Androsterone, Creatinine, Pregnanetriol, s 2-Hydroxyestrogens, 16α-Hydroxyestrone, 2-Methoxyestrone, 2-Methoxyestradiol, 5α-Androstanediol, 5ß-Androstanediol, 11ß-Hydroxyandrosterone, 11ß-Hydroxyetiocholanolone

Product includes a 20-30 minute consultation with Dr. Ritamarie to review results.

Testing available in the continental US only, excluding New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

24-hour urinary steroid hormone profiles are widely used in clinical diagnostics. Recent developments of natural hormone replacement therapies, available over the counter, as pregenolone, DHEA, and progesterone and by prescription, as bio-identical estrogen (bi-set, tri-est, or estriol) and testosterone have led to new applications for steroid hormone testing. The urinary hormone profiles can be used for diagnosis, dosage adjustment and monitoring of hormone balancing protocols. The 24-hour urine test is preferred by many practitioners, because nearly all hormones are secreted in 'bursts' and 'pulses' and a single blood draw or saliva collection (or even two or three of them) may not provide a representative sample.

The Meridian Valley Comprehensive Hormones Without HGH includes the following:

• DHEA, Cortisone, Cortisol, Pregnenolone, Aldosterone, Etiocholanolone, Adrosterone, Creatinine, Pregnanetriol, Tetrahydrocortisone, Tetrahydrocortisol, Allo-Tetrahydrocortisol, Tetrahydrocorticosterone, Allo-Tetrahydrocorticosterone


• DHEA, Estrone, Estradiol, Estriol, Pregnenediol, Testosterone, Etiocholanolone, Androsterone, Creatinine, Pregnanetriol, s 2-Hydroxyestrogens, 16α-Hydroxyestrone, 2-Methoxyestrone, 2-Methoxyestradiol, 5α-Androstanediol, 5ß-Androstanediol, 11ß-Hydroxyandrosterone, 11ß-Hydroxyetiocholanolone

Product includes a 20-30 minute consultation with Dr. Ritamarie to review results.

Testing available in the continental US only, excluding New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

Adrenal Stress Index tests cortisol levels at four different times during the day. The Adrenal Stress Index is indicated for Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Obesity, Depression, Insomnia, PTSD, Chronic Fatigue, Muscle and joint pain, Memory impairment, Osteoporosis, and Hypertension. High cortisol levels have been linked to Alzheimer´s Disease. Simple saliva collection done at home and mailed to the lab. Followed by a 10-15 minute consultation with Dr. Ritamarie to to review the results and come up with a plan to correct any imbalances found.

Adrenal Stress Index tests cortisol levels at four different times during the day. The Adrenal Stress Index is indicated for Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Obesity, Depression, Insomnia, PTSD, Chronic Fatigue, Muscle and joint pain, Memory impairment, Osteoporosis, and Hypertension. High cortisol levels have been linked to Alzheimer´s Disease. Simple saliva collection done at home and mailed to the lab. THIS TEST provides ADDITIONAL Cortisol testing designed for those with Sleep Disorders.

The Female Hormone Panel™ (FHP™) is a non-invasive test consisting of 11 saliva specimens collected during specified time periods throughout the menstrual cycle. The ovaries are a major component of the female reproductive cycle and they release hormones in a cyclical manner which is referred to as the menstrual cycle. The Female Hormone Panel™ provides a dynamic mapping of the free fraction levels of Estradiol (E2) and Progesterone (P) throughout one cycle. In addition, the cycle average of Testosterone (T) and DHEA are measured. The Female Hormone Panel™ includes: Estradiol (x11), Progesterone (x11), cycle average Testosterone and DHEA/DHEA-S, 3 Progesterone production indices, 4 Estradiol production indices, a full cycle P/E ratio graph and an example of a restorative plan. The expanded Female Hormone Panel™ (eFHP™) includes an additional five (5) FSH and five (5) LH measurements.

From a simple finger stick, the Blood Spot Fatty Acid measures key omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and calculates key indicators to establish your optimal balance. Trans fatty acids—the "bad" oils in processed foods—are also measured. Followed by a 10-15 minute coaching session with Dr. Ritamarie to review your results and come up with a plan to correct any imbalances. Included is an interpretative results session with a Dr Ritamarie trained Practitioner.

NOTE: GENOVA LAB TESTS ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR CLIENTS OUTSIDE THE USA

From a simple finger stick, the Blood Spot Fatty Acid measures key omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and calculates key indicators to establish your optimal balance. Trans fatty acids—the "bad" oils in processed foods—are also measured.

NOTE: GENOVA LAB TESTS ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR CLIENTS OUTSIDE THE USA

Advantages of the GI Effects Stool Profile

• Greater Accuracy
  
  Microbial DNA analysis improves the accuracy of results and includes both aerobes and anaerobes. Anaerobes comprise over 95% of the bacteria in the gut and are difficult to detect with old culture methods.


• Antibiotic resistance genes
  
  DNA analysis detects organisms possessing genes that give rise to antibiotic resistance, offering clinicians a superior tool for effective patient management.


• Single Sample Collection
  
  Culture methods require multiple collections, whereas the GI Effects Stool Profile requires only one sample collection leading to improved patient compliance!

Why Use Stool Analysis?

Gastrointestinal function is important for general health. The intestinal tract contains significant amounts of bacteria; some beneficial, some neutral, and some harmful. Balancing beneficial microbial flora in the gut is key to proper digestion, efficient nutrient usage, and ridding the body of waste and pathogens. Poor digestion and malabsorption can lead to immune dysfunction, nutritional insufficiencies, mental/emotional disorders, and autoimmune diseases.

Metametrix offers the Complete GI Effects profile for the most thorough look at the gut microbiome.

NOTE: GENOVA LAB TESTS ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR CLIENTS OUTSIDE THE USA

Why hair?

With respect to its contained elements, hair is essentially an excretory tissue rather than a functional tissue. Hair element analysis provides important information which, in conjunction with symptoms and other laboratory values, can assist the physician with an early diagnosis of physiological disorders associated with aberrations in essential and toxic element metabolism.

As protein is synthesized in the hair follicle, elements are incorporated permanently into the hair with no further exchange or equilibration with other tissues. Scalp hair is easy to sample, and because it grows an average of one to two cm per month, it contains a “temporal record” of element metabolism and exposure to toxic elements.

Nutrient elements including magnesium, chromium, zinc, copper and selenium are obligatory co-factors for hundreds of important enzymes and also are essential for the normal functions of vitamins. The levels of these elements in hair are correlated with levels in organs and other tissues.

Analysis of the levels of toxic metals in urine after the administration of a metal detoxification agent is an objective way to evaluate the accumulation of toxic metals. Acute metal poisoning is rare. More common, however, is a chronic, low-level exposure to toxic metals that can result in significant retention in the body that can be associated with a vast array of adverse health effects and not chronic disease.

Iodine/Iodide is an essential element that is pivotal to normal function of the thyroid gland and the health and integrity of breast tissue. Iodine/Iodide intake has decreased significantly over the past thirty years and consequentially clinical symptoms have become apparent. Iodine/Iodide sufficiency can be readily assessed by analysis of urinary iodide excretion.

Specific tissues in the body utilize iodide and iodine. Adequate iodine status is essential for the production of normal levels of thyroid hormones and the integrity of thyroid and mammary glands, but iodine/iodide intake has decreased significantly over the past thirty years. Iodide, the reduced form of iodine, is highly concentrated in the thyroid gland where it is incorporated into thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormones regulate growth and metabolic rate, body heat and energy production, and neuronal and sexual development. Iodine is concentrated in the breasts where it is associated with protection against fibrocystic breast disease and cancer. Sub-clinical iodine/iodide deficiency has been associated with impaired mental function and loss of energy due to hypothyroidism.

Iodine/Iodide is an essential element that is pivotal to normal function of the thyroid gland and the health and integrity of breast tissue. Iodine/Iodide intake has decreased significantly over the past thirty years and consequentially clinical symptoms have become apparent. Iodine/Iodide sufficiency can be readily assessed by analysis of urinary iodide excretion.

Specific tissues in the body utilize iodide and iodine. Adequate iodine status is essential for the production of normal levels of thyroid hormones and the integrity of thyroid and mammary glands, but iodine/iodide intake has decreased significantly over the past thirty years. Iodide, the reduced form of iodine, is highly concentrated in the thyroid gland where it is incorporated into thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormones regulate growth and metabolic rate, body heat and energy production, and neuronal and sexual development. Iodine is concentrated in the breasts where it is associated with protection against fibrocystic breast disease and cancer. Sub-clinical iodine/iodide deficiency has been associated with impaired mental function and loss of energy due to hypothyroidism.

The Urine Halides test provides comprehensive assessment of iodine sufficiency and retention of antagonistic halides in a single test. The test requires a spot urine specimen (first morning void preferred) for determination of baseline halide levels. An oral loading dose of iodine/iodide is ingested and all urine is collected for the subsequent 24 hours. Iodine and displaced bromide and fluoride are measured in the urine and the results for each element are reported as ug/gm creatinine and ug/24 hours. Iodine status is assessed by evaluation of the percentage of the ingested dose that is excreted. Low iodine excretion is suggestive of greater bodily retention and need.

Amino acid analyses aid in the diagnosis of: dietary protein adequacy and amino acid balance, gastrointestinal dysfunctions, forms of protein intolerance, nutritional deficiencies (vitamins, minerals), renal and hepatic dysfunction, psychiatric abnormalities, susceptibility to inflammatory response and oxidative stress, reduced detoxification capacity, susceptibility to occlusive arterial disease and many inherent disorders in amino acid metabolism.

The 24-hour urine amino acid analysis has the highest probability of detecting abnormalities if renal function is normal. The 24-hour test indicates what is high and low over the course of a day, reflects blood and tissue amino acid pools, and is not affected by circadian rhythm. Healthy kidneys efficiently conserve essential amino acids. Therefore, urine levels of amino acids decrease first and tend to give an earlier indication of inadequacy than do plasma levels.

This stool analysis determines the presence of ova and parasites such as protozoa, flatworms, and roundworms; Cryptosporidium parvum, Entamoeba histolytica, and Giardia lamblia antigens; bacteria, fungi (including yeasts), and occult blood; and Clostridium difficile colitis toxins A and B. Sensitivity to pathogenic organisms will be reported as necessary. Causes for concern are both an overgrowth of microorganisms that are normally present in the intestines and the presence of microorganisms that are not normally present in the intestines. Either condition signals that major physiological pathways in the intestinal environment are outside homeostatic limits.

Digestive tract infections and dysbiosis must be analyzed to determine a patient's functional health status. BioHealth's microbiology department uses advanced staining and antigen techniques to recover pathogens without the artifically high results often seen in other, less time-proven, laboratory methods. Panel #401H is most frequently used as it includes antigen detection of the Helicobacter pylori bacterium.

The Helicobacter pylori stool antigen test is validated in studies including more than 10,000 patients, in many different countries world-wide. More than 40 studies, published in peer-reviewed journals, report an average accuracy exceeding 90%, in both adult and pediatric populations, for diagnosing the infection and for confirming the eradication after the therapy.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a spiral shaped bacterium that lives in or on the lining of the stomach. It causes more than 90 percent of ulcers, which are sores in the lining of the stomach or the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine). Before 1982, when this bacterium was discovered, spicy food, acid, stress and lifestyle were considered the major causes of ulcers. But this is only the beginning. H. pylori in the stomach will degrade parietal cells, cells responsible for digestion. If they are wiped out by H. pylori, numerous problems result.

Helicobacter pylori infections are very prevalent and are often the cause of not only stomach ulcers, but also acid reflux, burping, belching and general upper GI distress – as well as stomach cancer.